klingatron

Joggers and Pin Stripes

2008-08-26T12:51:00.000-07:00

Well once again it has been a while since my last update and this time I won't be showing any new work from myself cause at this moment in time I have nothing new to show. I have been working on some commissions and have been getting things sorted for when I get to move into a new studio very soon which I am looking forward to, more room and no flies or bats this time.

But I have managed to check out a couple of shows which was interesting. My friends Ally and Amy of the Recoat Gallery hosted their 12th show to celebrate the gallery's 1st anniversary with a show filled to the brim of amazing talent and the fun began the day before the opening night. The show would exhibit the works of She One, Steff Plaetz, 0two, my friend Duncan Barton as well as many others in what was a packed group show.
As I said the fun began the night before with some live art happening in the tunnel next to the gallery.

She and 0Two got things started.

She, Steff and )two worked on one wall whilst the opposite wall was transformed by Elph, Lyken and Ally.

Steff slaying down some stencil action

The Tunnel

Elph working his magic

Lyken has the skills creating some fine lines with a can

I left before they were all finished but headed round for the opening night, however before I made my way to the gallery I had to go check out a new commissioned piece by my friend GazMac who created this massive piece outside of Buchanan Bus Station for all to see as the head off on their travels.

Dave White piece

Steff

Duncan Barton

The busy opening night. Thanks to Ally and Amy for a great night and it was really good to meet She One, Otwo and Steff for the first time whilst also catching up with Elph and GazMac.

The following week I headed down to London for the day to go check out the "Street Art" show at the Tate Modern. It was an early start with a 5am take off.

Walking across the Millennium Bridge was different with the view of the Tate altered by the massive paintings by JR, Blu, Faile, Nunca, Os Gemeos and Sixart.

'Hands up'

So my expectations were that there was to be work by the featured artists who may have created an exhibit inside the gallery for a show titled "Street and Studio" so after paying £10 for what I thought was the street art exhibition (because of the title) we were disappointed to find a show of old photographs. Not that that wasn't interesting but our expectations had been kicked in the nuts at this point.
It turned out that the street art show was free and viewers had to use a map to walk around a certain area of London close to the Tate in a treasure hunt type of way to find the art.

The show wasn't what I thought it was going to be, being more wowed by the works on the side of the building I can see how it would be exciting for young kids who are getting into the "street art" scene. It was a cool concept but by the time I had finished inside the Tate I was shattered from walking around London since 7am. It was time to grab some food so I headed along the Thames to make our way to Soho for some DIM SUM.

One thing you notice when walking along the banks of the Thames is that everyone Jogs on their breaks and all the men wear pin stripe suits, it is just a mental city of buisness folk.
After Dim Sum I met up with my good friend Chris who is an animator working for The Motion Picture Company having worked on such films as 10,000 BC and the Narnia films. It had been a while since I had seen and caught up with Chris and was gutted also that Sam couldn't make it. Thanks for the Tea Chris.

So that same day I headed back to Glasgow. A day in London is always different and who knows when I may do it again. So now I gotta crack on with my commission work but before I do I'm off for a holiday in the sun. I'll see you when I get back.
Peace

New Works

2008-08-11T15:54:00.000-07:00

I have recently been working on some new works which have a more loose feel to them. These paintings below combine the detail and clean lines of my stencils mixed with the messy free hand spraying to give it a different feel to previous works. These have been painted on heavy duty cartridge paper rather than my usual wood canvases.

'Girl with Shades'

'Untitled'

'Girl with Shades 2'

'Untitled' (self portrait)

Usually with my work I only do a one off original piece, however for the first time I have produced a very Limited Edition of stenciled prints. 'Profile in The Shadows' is a run of 10 prints that have been individually sprayed by myself on heavy duty Cartridge paper, these are not screen prints, and are available to buy on my Online Shop whilst stocks last.

Order 'Foo Kin rice' next time

2008-07-11T14:13:00.000-07:00

It has been some time it seems since I updated my blog to let you good folk know what has been going on. I have been working hard on some new paintings getting ready to send them off to Australia as I have been invited to exhibit at this years Stencil Festival for a show titled '5 Continents - 6 Artists' and below are two paintings I am sending.

'Drunken Man'

'Another Day In China Town'

The other week I headed down with a few other members of the M8 Collective to Leicester for the Sole Elements Show in line with the Bass Festival, myself, Gazmac, Foot Solejah and Leslie of Fat Buddha Store and a van load of art and limited edition trainers drove down with some interesting questions being asked on the way down.

We arrived in a very wet Leicester and began to set up the show which was only to run for the weekend, but there was still a lot to get on with.

Gazmac made some finishing touches to his 'Undesirable Type' painting.

A detailed shot of the glitter of his painting

Big Brother is watching

My display of skateboards and custom trainers.

Works by myself and Gaz

Futura Sneaks, toys and sign $50 bill

Custom toys by Dinosauria

We got to our hotel which the guys at 2funky records (who hosted the show) had arranged for us to stay over the weekend. It wasn't the best place I have ever been to and the yellow stains on the mattress didn't help.

Gaz and Leslie enjoying the hell hole.

The Foot Solejah got in touch with the guys of 2funky who told us to grab our bags and get the hell out there as they were moving us to a better hotel.

And sure enough it was well better, and by better I mean the best hotel I have stayed in.

The reception area.

Gaz and the flat screen TV

An absolute weapon of a bathroom

Quite spacious compared to our previous rooms. Notice Gaz up for celebrating with a drink from the mini bar

We settled down and headed across the road to The Noodle Bar for some amazing grub and a few enjoyable pints.

The show didn't have an opening night like a usual show but a good group of folk came in to check out the art and sneaks including my Xynthetic brothers, Gavin Strange and Pone came along to check it out, Gav was mad enough to come all the way from Bristol. Even Mr Jonny Clooney made it to the show.

The weekend was over and we headed back to Glasgow. I cracked on with getting work ready for Australia and for the up and coming show in Belfast which is happening in the next couple of weekends, but I did manage to find some time to put down my knife and catch up with some folk. I headed down to Prestwick Airport to check out the arrival of the B17 'Liberty Belle' which was doing a final tour of countries across the Atlantic.

It was really something special to watch especially to see the B17 do a low fly by over the runway, this classic made an amazing noise as it flew by.

I got pretty close as it made its way to its parking space. These are the two pilots who welcomed a coffee after flying 6 hours from Iceland, they were also welcomed by a mass of reporters and camera men.

I also took some time to grab a pint with my friend Theo 'the music man' Forrest who has been working on a album for the past few months solidly, he let me listen to his work so far and discussed a few ideas whilst listening to some songs for Theo to gather some inspiration. It is early stages but after listening to the foundation of what he has created was enough to get me excited about what is to come.

Just the other day I got invited to join my good mate Chaz Sands, his mum and sister, who was visiting from Cambridge, for a meal at Bar Soba. Good food as usual at Soba and was good to catch up with Chaz and find out that he was an uncle. Here he is with his 2 year old niece, Ruby.

With it been a while since my last update it seems only proper to have a long blog for you guys. The next will have all the gossip from Belfast with the other Xynthetic family members. Should be a good one with some new work from all the troops and some live drawing action as well.

Up and Coming shows

2008-05-26T15:42:00.001-07:00

Since the show at The Arches things have been quiet with regards to me displaying work however that is about to change in the up and coming months with the first show kicking off in Leicester. My self and the rest of the M8 Collective (a Glasgow based collective of artists) will be involved in 'Sole Elements' during the Bass Festival. There will be of course custom kicks by myself and other sneaker influenced artwork yet it is not just a sneaker show, there will be original artwork, photography and prints. Entry is free and will be during the 28th and 29th of June. Hope to see you there is you are in or near the Midlands.

The second stop is across the water in Belfast in July for an exhibition hosted by Candy Collective Talk . I will be displaying work with fellow family members of Xynthetic as well as hopefully doing some live painting and my man Gav Strange will be doing a Q&A alongside Ben Drury from Mo Wax. I will let you know more as things progress with this one so stay tuned.

Been working on some new decks for these shows as well as other paintings in my studio.

'Via Condotti' skateboard.

'Untitled' pattern skateboard

There are 5 of these skateboards available which are for sale via my online shop and I will be taking some to The Bass Festival.

The other week I headed up to Dundee for the degree show to show my support to my good friend Scott Hobbs as he unveiled his innovation product to the world. The people who came to have a look were loving Scott's product which is easy to believe.

It is called the Attigo TT and the TT stands for Touch Tables, and I have had a go on them and they are amazing fun. The sound waves from the Mp3 file run vertically up the screen an allow you to que up the beat as well as scratch, pitch control, play the beat backwards and when switched off it slows down as a 12 inch record would. Check out the vid below to see the final product in action.

Final Product // ATTIGO TT from Scott Hobbs on Vimeo.

Enjoy

New Skateboards Available

2008-05-20T11:37:00.000-07:00

This is 1 of 5 skateboards with a new pattern that I have designed which are now available on the Klingatron Online Shop
More colours will be available very soon.

What's happenin in April.

2008-04-27T12:15:00.000-07:00

I haven't done as much traveling this month compared to previous months which is good especially as Scotland is in a panic about lack of fuel, but I have been busy with some bits and pieces.
As I mentioned in my previous blog my good friend Gav Strange of Jam Factoryis having an official release of his brand new Droplet toy at Go Go Plastic in Birmingham on the 2nd of May and I was invited to customize one for the opening night which I am very happy to be a part of and I wish him every success for the release. here is my contribution towards the show.

I have seen a couple of the other submissions and there is a large number of artists involved so I recommend you check it out if you can make it or contact Gav to find out how to get your hands on a Droplet.

I have been playing around in a sketch book as well.

I also mentioned that I was to have an interview in Kingdom Magazine and I am happy to say the mag is printed and on release at decent news agents. Thanks to Joe for ding the interview.

The other weekend I hooked up with AZZ and Jossy to go see Redman & Method Man in Glasgow. This had to be one of the best gigs I have been to, those guys know how to get the crowd buzzin.

I managed to get this clip of the gig.

Method Man & Redman in Glasgow from klingatron on Vimeo.

This year saw the second Chaz Sands Invitational Competition and I was asked by Chaz to paint the competition logo at the top of the rail box.

The rail box section.

Getting my bling on with Gold paint.

Done

Chaz with the 1st place trophy.

A couple of days later the comp began with everyone excited about what was about to go down, it was good to catch up with old friends and meet new ones.
My good friends Giles admiring Mike's new Enigma sweater from the new range.

The comp saw a big crowd ready to see some pros from all over the world do their stuff.

The comp was won by Brian Aragon with Chaz placing 2nd and Al Hooi in 3rd.

The comp was followed by an after party where the drinks were flowing and the vibe was good.

That's your lot for now but there are always more in the pipeline that I will update you with as they happen.

Carbon & Chemicals Show #3

2008-04-14T14:05:00.000-07:00

Time really passes quick when you're having a good time as no sooner had the Nottingham show forthe Xynthetic Carbon and Chemicals show started it finished and that ment that it was time for the final show to begin at The Workshop.

If you couldn't make it to any of the previous shows didn't quite get what the show was all about, rather than writing a massive essay to tell you all about the idea behind the show and the process going into creating the work then check out this edit created by Xynthetics own Jonny Clooney.

Xynthetic Carbon & Chemicals retrospective from Xynthetic on Vimeo.

Ok well I hope you enjoyed that one now lets get to the action that occurred in Bristol last week. I arrived in Bristol after another 400 mile journey which has become a lot easier to digest now that I have done it so many times, I was greeted by Gavin Strange and RichT who were pimping their bikes.

Everyone seems to be getting into their bikes down there which is cool cause a car isn't really needed that much in Bristol. The opening was the following day so Gav and I were keen to get things ready for the show so that things were not so rushed like they have been for previous show so we headed down to The Workshop.

So myself, Gav and Alex begun to get all the work on the wall. We had all the work from Nottingham which was a lot and had to get as much as we could into the smaller space of the Workshop, Don't panic Gav we'll get it all up.

It was starting to get late as we continued to work, we started to feel the hunger and decided to grab a pizza from across the road which has it's own brewery also. SOLD.

Paid the bill then headed back over the road to finish off what we started. Alex cracked on with the mass amount of photos, Gav sorted the prints and I hung the skateboards.

I think out of all the shows this one looked the best, Workshop looked great also with wall to wall art.

We actually got it all hung and ready and closed up shop at around 1am, I had read on Gav's blog that he was getting well into the guitar hero so he showed me his skills.

Then I showed Gav my style.

Later Rich stumbled in to just wipe the slate clean and show us both "How it is done"

So the next morning was calm as we got so much done the night before, it was strange not having to panic and we just got the goody bags ready as we waited for Dan and Norm of Waste to arrive. They should up and helped with the final finishing touches.

Myself, Dan and Norm were starving just before the show so we headed to The Ship for a pizza (big mistake) and also got a round in with Rich and friends.

By the time we got our crappy pizzas the show was up and running.

The booze and banter were flowing and it was a good opening night and a good turn out of the Xynthetic members.

Even Pancho from Dirty Sanchez came down for a peek at our work.

So the night carried on and some of us went home whilst others (like myself and Dan) continued drinking at some club, needless to say I felt pretty rough the next morning. So the gang headed to the local pub.....not for a drink but for a feast and some pool.

Followed by a good long walk up to the Clifton Suspension Bridge.

Just near the Bridge is a rock that has become so polished because so many people have slid down it and you always see kids brave it, make way for the big kids.

Added danger by surfing down this rock.

That's how we roll (or slide)

The day ended with a take away, Sin City and obviously more guitar hero which is amazing. Gav and Jonny were indeed the two guys to beat mastering the game expert style.

As I said time just flies by cause before I knew it it was time to make that 400 mile trip once again to get back in time for a good sunday roast.
All three shows were amazing to say the least and I had a great time every time getting to meet new people and fellow Xynthetic members. Cheers Gav for sorting everything out and to Dan and Norm for being great host in Middlesbourgh and Nottingham. The show in Bristol finishes up on the 2nd of May which is also the same day that something very special happens in Birmingham.

Gav Strange of Jam Factoryis having an official release of his brand new Droplet toy which is a cool toy coming in a variety of colours as well as plain white for customising your own possible. Check out Gavs Flickrpage to see what these little bad boys look like, and hopefully you'll be able to make it to the launch of the droplet which is due for international release. Congrats Gav.

New Paintings available

2008-04-09T06:39:00.000-07:00

I have added some new paintings to my Online Shop, check it out and there are a few Bear T-Shirts left.

Making The Cut edit

2008-03-27T08:28:00.001-07:00

New edit of myself creating my latest paintings for my recent solo show at The Arches, Glasgow.

Carbon & Chemicals Show #2

2008-03-24T16:13:00.000-07:00

It has again been a crazy few days, before I begin on the madness that was The Nottingham stop of the Xynthetic Carbon & Chemicals tour here is a couple of commissions I finished recently.

So the Nottingham show opening was on Friday 21st of March so I drove down with all my work the day before to meet up with Gav Strange, Pone and Dan and Norm from Waste at their studio which was a pretty cool place.

Norm with his printing gear on.

Arty farty photo of Pone.

Dan and Norm still had plenty of work to do to get their screen prints done so Gav, Pone and myself headed off to Ikea to get some supplies. Gav may look like he was in a stressed mood but he wasn't really, we were getting a bit carried away in ikea with all the cheap goodies they have giving us ideas for the layout of the show.

We returned to the gallery with frames and candles after a detour to Derby thanks to Pone's navigation skills, time was passing fast but we got all the work out and some of the prints frames ready to hang before Gav and I headed over to his to make a start on getting the photos clipped together.

Prints by Waste

Gav and I stayed up until after 1am clipping Lomo photos together whilst watching the last episode of The Sopranos but I struggled to sleep so I woke up at 4am and finished clipping all 500 photographs together.

3 hours later and it was time to head to the gallery to get set up, which was locked up and we had to wait up in the studios until Norm showed up.

Getting our 'Dragons Den' steez on.

And so the hanging began, with so much to hang and do everyone had a job to do.

All was going so well until a pipe from the the toilets above the gallery burst cause a shit load of water to go all over, thankfully nowhere near the prints or artwork but still. It was strange that Gav didn't seem to show any signs of panic compared to setting up other shows, I went kind of silent for a bit with "WHAT THE F*@k!!!" shouting in my head.

Thankfully it was sorted soon and Nom could start setting up the projector with the 8mm footage played on one of the two brand new DVD players that Jonny bought, he got two cause the first one was broken right after he bought it and then replaced with another broken one. An electric shock or two later and we got it running.

Finishing touches before show time.

The Goody Bags for the first 30 visitors.

Big G dawg labeling the work.

And so we were ready to rock and roll.

The Decks.

Waste Prints

RichT painting

Gav's print

Pone's print

Pone's other print

Deck by Waste

RichT Deck

My Deck

Mr Jago's Deck

Pone's Deck

Pone's other Deck

Deck by Waste

It was not long before the crowd started to get bigger and enjoy the fine beer and wine that was complimented by some classic beats mixed by ED 209.

Some live art was happening as the party continued, Mr Jago, the Waste boys, Pone Gav and myself hit up the wall throughout the night. No stencil work for me sadly so I had to get my sketch on.

The finished product.

Signed

My attempt at a B-Boy stance, see what booze does to you kids.

Gav giving his thanks to the crowd.

Then off to The Orange Tree for even more drinking action and a great way to end the night.

Jonny and Gav showing there was love in the room

Dean and Gaz

Pone and his lady

And so that was the opening night of the second Carbon and Chemicals Show, the next one os only just round the corner down in Bristol at Workshop, hope to see you there if you are in the area. Nottingham was a great show and thanks to Gav's parents and Norm for putting me up for the two nights I was down.